President Biden's One Year accomplishments

Anti-Democracy GOP

 After President Biden's one year anniversary in office, the media and GOP leaders have been labeling him as unpopular with the American people.  

Despite the reality of his successes, it is true that in recent polls of his popularity, some Americans rate him lower than when his term began.  But to lay all the blame on the President is unfair and misleading.  It  minimizes what President Biden has accomplished over the past year, much of which most Americans don't realize.  It also misses the fact that there are people, who are mostly GOP Congressional members, who do not want President Biden to succeed and are able to prevent him from accomplishing more.  

Despite Congressional obstruction, there were many things accomplished in President Biden's first year in office.  Remember that he got bipartisan support for and passed the Infrastructure and Jobs Act, giving over $1.2 trillion for building and repairing infrastructure in every state.  This accomplishment alone will improve the lives of average Americans, increase jobs, benefit workers unions and make the rich and stockholders much richer.  But he didn't stop there.

Biden signed the American Rescue Plan that gave $1.9 trillion in relief to people and businesses.  The plan restored veterans benefits which had been cut under Trump.  It increased Affordable Care Act funding and provided new coverage options and lower prices.  The plan saved American jobs in the airline industry by preventing layoffs and furloughs planned by lack of business.  Some $4 billion of the plan will benefit socially disadvantaged farmers.  $1 billion will be used for a racial equality commission.  

President Biden used the Defense Production Act to accelerate vaccine development, and supply personal protective equipment.  This saved lives by delivering protection months earlier than expected.  Following scientific recommendations, Biden took actions to limit the spread of COVID such as issuing rules for companies with more than 100 employees to require vaccines.  He doubled military health teams assisting hospitals.  He required federal employees to be vaccinated. 

The President increased the number of immunizations available and increased the locations of immunization sites so that over 200 million Americans have been vaccinated as of  today.

President Biden used a global attack on COVID by directing the US to donate $4 billion to international vaccine distribution.

Besides this, President Biden kept to his pledge to increase wages by increasing Federal workers pay to $15/hr after Republicans rejected a national wage increase for all workers.  Families budgets would stretch further as Biden increased SNAP funding by 15% for families who qualified for free school lunches.  He increased food stamp benefits to needy families by 25%.  He released rules to help protect patients from unexpected medical bills.  He established a $2.5 billion fund to address mental illness and addiction.  He approved pension relief which kept more than 100 pensions solvent.

He helped alleviate supply issues by making agreements with the busiest ports in America.  His enacted an executive order that will make American suppliers less dependent on foreign companies.  

He returned money to the teachers in Republican run states who had their pay withheld for instituting mask mandates.

These are only a few of the many accomplishments President Biden has already accomplished.  

If he were allowed to continue with his plans for the Build Back Better Act, much more would be accomplished.  Unfortunately all Republicans and a couple of Republican-acting Democrats are preventing this.  

If he was allowed to sign voter rights legislation, our democracy could be protected and not be potentially turned into an autocratic state, which the GOP membership seems to prefer.  Again all Republicans and a couple of Republican-acting Democrats are preventing this.

If President Biden did not receive obstruction by the GOP, would you benefit from the Build Back Better plan and the Voter Rights plan he and Democrats want to pass? 

Would you prefer a Republican administration whose only policy is to block progress made for Americans and install an autocrat who incites insurrection and tries to steal elections with the help of the Republican party, cult followers and insane lawyers?  

When the Republicans were in power, the only thing they accomplished was to give the ultra-rich a tax break that would provide them with $1.7 trillion dollars every 10 years and continuing forever.  They tried really hard to kill healthcare and were it not for John McCain, they would have succeeded.  

If they were in power again, this GOP would certainly eliminate social security, eliminate public schools, privatize the post office and allow voter suppression laws to be enacted to be sure they remain in power forever.  Democracy would become a facade.  People may still be allowed to vote, but the votes couldn't be trusted.  

So it's important that Americans don't think President Biden is as popular as he once was.  It lets the Democrats realize that their message is being diluted or diminished.  It is up to Democratic leadership to ensure the following: 

•     That the Democratic message is clear.  
•     That the President's accomplishments are common knowledge.  
•     That the differences between the anti-democracy GOP and the Democrats is easily understood. 
•     That the successful future of America and every American depends heavily on Democrats governing.

 

Can Merrick Garland shake some sense into Trump's loyal MAGATS?

                                                                                     

MAGA insurrection

It is nearly a year since Trump supporters were organized by former President Trump and the Republican leadership to attack the Capitol Building in an attempt to stop the transfer of power from Trump to Biden.  

Today, Merrick Garland, Biden Administration Attorney General, gave a public presentation of the progress that the Justice Department has made concerning the January 6, 2021 insurrection.  His explanation covered multiple areas of past, present and future activities of DOJ involvement. 

Garland explained that the investigation is being run in accordance with DOJ procedures and started with the lower level insurrectionists who broke into the Capitol building, but will not stop there.  In a sweeping statement, Garland indicated the DOJ will follow the facts as far as they lead.  Every person who was involved in the planning, encouragement, inciting, funding and desecration will be held accountable and suffer whatever punishments are appropriate by law regardless of who they are.  No one will be given favoritism because of stature, position, party membership or wealth and everyone will be treated equally.  It appears that this DOJ may really carry out consequences.  It is so important for the country to realize the culprits for who they really are.  Our Democracy depends on it. 

The seriousness of this investigation cannot be denied. The results may and should remove many in Republican leadership positions who financially supported the insurrectionists and contributed to the insurrection by promoting the lies that led to it.

Garland spoke directly about the "Big Lie."  The "Big Lie" is the prerequisite misdirection used by Donald Trump and the Republican leadership in order to enrage and incite their army of MAGATS to physically rise up against the government.  The "Big Lie" states that there was Democrat initiated election fraud in the 2020 elections and that Joe Biden stole the election from the "true" winner, Donald Trump.  It is a lie.  Garland mentioned that the intelligence communities and DOJ of both the Trump administration and the Biden administration found no election fraud.  Further he stated that the "Big Lie" was being used by Republican run states to initiate restrictive election laws that would deny many voters of their vote.  He mentioned that some states even established laws that would allow partisan (Republican) secretaries of state to throw out votes at their whim.  Garland indicated that the DOJ would do everything in their power to preserve the right to vote as that is the foundation of our Democracy.  Without a real sense that every citizen's vote is counted, America would become no different than the fake Democracies of other autocratic dictatorships.  Garland  appealed to the Congress to vote to initiate the actions of the Department of Justice to ensure the voting laws of the United States are not being violated.

Presumably the findings of the Congressional January sixth Committee will be shared with the DOJ, since it appears the DOJ will be further investigating the attack on American Democracy.

With so many MAGATS still stuck in the cult belief that the "Big Lie" is truth, it will probably be a cold day in Hell when they come around, but perhaps the DOJ investigation will help.  Something needs to shake them free of the mind control the GOP and Trump have on them.  For the sake of the country, I hope they see the light.